Machine for washing fruit.



"Patented Jan. 12, 1915.

3 SHEE'ISSHEBT 1.

Inventor Attorneys,

J. L. MAULL.

MACHINE FOR WASHING FRUIT. APPLIOATION FILED OCT. 16, 1914.

Patented Jan. 12, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

L19AW l I l l I I- l I l I I I l I I I I I l I: a I? w 31 I 11 I I RI 1I J. L. MAULL. MACHINE FOR WASHING FRUIT. v APPLICATION FILED OCT. 16,1914.

Patented Jan. 12, 1915. v

3 SHEBTSSHEIJT 8.

- Mtomeys Inventor;

A)! [Illl l l i I Witnesses useful -Mz'ichine JAMES L. MAULL, 0ECRESCENT CITY, FLGZSLILIDA.

MACHINE FOR- I/ASHZNG FRUIT,

Specification of Letters Ietent.

2 ieeeil. Jan. 12 M le To all whom it may concem v Belt known that I,Jxinins L. Men-LL, a citizen of .the United States, residing at CrescentCity, in she county Pulznsm and State of Florida, have invented; a newfor Wcshn Friiifs l which the following is e speeiiiwcic'm Thisinvention relates to machine-i for washing fruit, one of its objectsheizig" to provide coiiperating element-s whereby the fruit suppliedto'the mac inc will he conveyed longitudinally through the machine Kyone of she elements and the fruit, dui'in such movement, will be rotatedso that all parts of the fruit will he hroughl; inte contact with theWashing elements.

A. further object is so provide ily for use in connection fcrent sizes.A

With the foregoihg and other oh' ecss 111 view which will eppeer esdescription she coinproceeds, the invention resid 'binntion and eiiengemehi of pares end in the details of coiistrucuen hereinsfberclescribed and ciaiineci, he understood that changes in the '{H'EBGE ellOOClllflQEli of the invention herein eliselosel can he made within thescope of what is claimed, without;

departing from the spiris of he invention. In the accompanying drawingsshe pre ferred form of the mvenlxion has been shown.

In said drawings: Figure 1 e len View of the Washiilg' mechanism famineand hoodi of the machine being shown see tion. Fig. 2 is a session online illl 1. Fig. 3 1s an ehzl elevation.

Referring to the figures hy characters reference-l designales a. framehaving a trough 2 supported therein, there being a hood 8 extending fromthe sides of the trough szlaotecl to house the mechanism of the machine,This hood is made oi remo'v able sides and too Journalerl Within oneend. portion of the frame is a transverse drive shell 4 adapted to bedriven in any suitable manner, this shaft being preferably extendedlaterally beyond the frame as shown particularly in Fig. 3. Secured tothe shaft iare oppositely disposed beveled gears 5, each of which meshesWith a. bevel gear 6 secured to one enll 01- a longitudinal shaft '2jourmietl Within the frame 1 and. shove the trough "2. The his o shafts'2 ere pemllel and mounted lheh when shaf j on each of these shaftsisspiral brush '8 designed. when the shaft is rotated in the directionindicated by lzhe arrow inl 'jg. 3, to fecal the engaged fmii;longitudinally of the machine.

Extending longitudinally Linden the space between ewe brushes shell 9having oppositely exeeuding arms 10 secured to each end i hereof.Pivolzallymounir ed on each shaft 1 near esch encl is a lever ii thelower of which is connecte to one of the adjacent 10 by means e link .12Ashlie s'cwo arms 11 all each end of the machine areconnecled tothewespeceive arms 10, it will he epperene shot when shsit 9 is rotated,she levers ruined on the shafts T. will he swung in opposite directions,thus is sense the upper arms of said levers to swing iowerrl or fromeach other. For the purposeof actuating the shaft 9 .encl then-shy shiftlevers Tell relative to each oeher, an eeisueiiiig her is pivotollyeonnectesi to see of "she arms 10 anti extends lsierclly from machine,any suitable means being provide-cl for holding this has againstmovement after it has been all jusieii. I

The upper arms of lovers l1 diverge non molly snci the terminal portionsof these arms are securecl so encl suppers side boards 1 which ezslrencllongitudinally of the chine. Journsled between the upper arms of (shelevers 11 are smooth face rollers 15 parallel with the shafts 7 enclsupported close to the ecljscent brushes 5%. Ezleh of these rollers 15has a 16 at one ehil thereof, seicl meshing with an iniiernieclizisegear jcurnaled upon spherarm she 11. This intermediate gear meshes with18 secured she scljeeeni, 'i'. Consequently it will be seen is rotated,he brush 8 will. not only move therewith, hut motion will he'srensrnitiecl through the gears to the eeljecenb roller Which will bedriven in the some direction the brush. l

As before pointed out during she romtion of she shaft 4, the brushes 8are simultoneously rotated in oflpesite directions respectively or, inother Words, serve to convey toward she rollers 15, any fruit which maybe placed upon the brushes. The rollers '15 likewise rotate in the samedirection as the brushes adjacent thereto;

When fruit is deposited on one or" the brushes 8 1i; Wlll he carried.eherehy ageinss justed downwardly whereas,

I the roller.

the adjacent roller 15 and willpby reason .of the spiral surface of thebrush, be conveyed longitudinally along the brush and the roller 15.During this longitudinal movement of the fruit it is subjected to theaction of the roller 15 with which it cor tact s so that the fruit isnot only conveyed longitudinallyby the brush but is also given anindividual rotation which, combined with the longitudinal movement towhich the fruit is-subjected,- results in imparting to the fruit aratory motion whereby all portions of ti e surface of each fruit arecaused to come into contact with the brush. Consequently thoroughwashing of the fruit is insured. By having the rollers 15 ad ustablymounted relative to thebrushes 8, the machine can be adjusted for use inconnection with fruitof different sizes. Where larger fruits are used,the rollers 15 are ad where smaller fruits are employed the said rollersare adjusted upwardly, the object being at all times to maintain thecenter of gravity of the fruit a short distance to one side of thevertical center of the brush 8 so that the fruit is kept in contact withthe rdller l5 almost entirely by the pressure of the brush thereagainst.

In order that water may be supplied to the fruit while being acted on bythe brushes, sprinkling pipes 19 are supported above the brushes asshown and are connected with a suitable supply whereby water will bedischarged downwardly onto the fruit.

By providing a hood made up of removable sides and a removable top,access can be had readily to the interior of the machine for repairingand cleaning it. v i

A machine such as herein described has been found very eflicient for thepurpose of washing fruit and is especially advantageous by reason of itssimple and durable construction as well as its efficiency in cleaningall portions of the surface of a fruit.

One important advantage resulting from the fact that the rollers 15rotate in the same direction as the brushes 8 is that the said rol 'rsthus prevent the fruit from being dla vn into the path between the brushand Each roller exerts an upward outward pressure against the fruitwhich not only serves to rotate the fruit, but also to lift it away fromthe pass between the roller and the brush.

What is claimed is:

1. A machine'for washing fruit, including a revoluble combined brush andspiral conveyer, a smooth faced means"? veyer, a smooth faced rollerparallel with the brush, and means for rotatin the brush and rollersimultaneously in the same direction.

2. A machine for Washing fruit, including a revoluble combined brush andspiral conroller parallel with the brush, and means for rotating thebrush and roller simultaneously in the same direction, said roller beingadjustable angularly about the axis of the brush.

3. A machine for washing fruit, including a revoluble combined brushveyer, a smooth faced roller parallel with the brush, means and rollersimultaneously in the same direction, said roller being adjustableangularly about the axis of the brush, and a side board parallel andadjustable with the roller.

4. A fruit washing machine including a shaft, a spiral brush revolubletherewith, levers pivotally mounted on the shaft, a smooth faced rollerjournaled in the levers and close to and parallel with the brush, meansfor adjusting shift the roller relative to the brush, means for rotatingthe brush, and means for trans .mitting motion to the rollerirrespective of the angular adjustment of the lever, said roller andbrush being revoluble'simultaneously in the same direction.

5. In a fruit washing machine, the combination with parallel shafts, andoppositely revoluble spiral brushes upon the respective shafts, oflevers fulcrumed upon each shaft,

rollers'journaled within the lovers and parsmooth faces, means forrotating each roller in the same direction as the adjacent brush, andmeans for simultaneously shifting the levers to adjust the rollerstoward or from each other and relative to the brushes. v j

6. A machine for Washing fruit, including a revoluble combined brush andspiral'con veyer, I a smooth-faced the brush, means for rotating thebrush and roller simultaneously in the same direction, and waterdischarging means supported above and parallel with the brush.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto allixedmy signature in the prcsenceof two witnesses.

v JAMES L. MAULL.

W itnesses I". M. Dunn/mos, Ron'r. 1t. Baniunorn.

and spiral con-' for rotating the brush the levers angularly to" v

